Let s Be Healthy
By Yassir Fazaga | 2026-01-13T18:27:32.229961+00:00 | Topic: Iman
Khutbah: Let's Be Healthy
Sheikh Yassir Fazaga
Opening
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
A'udhu billahi min ash-shaytanir rajeem
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. Alhamdu lillahi rabbil alameen.
Wassalatu wassalamu ala ashrafil anbiyai wa atharil mursaleen, shafi'il mudhnibeena wa habibir rabbil alameen, Muhammadin salawat rabbi wa salamuhu alayhi wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'een at-tayyibeena at-tahireen.
Alhamdu lillahi rabbil alameen. Wassalatu wassalamu ala ashrafil anbiyai wa atharil mursaleen. Alhamdu lillahi.
And may His peace and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). We bear witness that no one is worthy of worship but Allah. And we bear witness that indeed Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is his final messenger. The best of speech is the book of Allah.
And the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم).
The Importance of Health in Islam
O beloved of the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم)Our Lord says in His noble book:
O children of Adam, take your adornments at every masjid. And eat and drink, but do not be excessive. Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess.
And our Lord says:
O you who have believed, eat of the good things which We have provided for you.
Allah (جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ) says in the Quran, O children of Adam, take your adornments at the places of prayer. (وَكُلُوا) (واشربوا) Eat and drink. However, do not be excessive. (وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا) Do not be excessive and do not be wasteful.
You know nowadays, subhanAllah, amongst all the economic challenges that people are talking about, that people are facing, there is also a lot of talk about healthcare, and healthcare reform, and debates about healthcare, people holding town hall meetings about healthcare. Because this is important.
A component of us human beings, in order to function properly, we must be healthy. So the talk itself is appropriate. And the talk itself is very timely, simply because people are suffering from healthcare and the consequences of healthcare.
The Quran as Healing
Now in the Quran, subhanAllah, healthcare is so important. It is so important that Allah calls His own book, Shifa, healing.
That is beautiful. Allah refers to His book, to His words, to the Quran, as this is a book that is, in it there is Shifa, there is healing in it for mankind. And it is also a constant dua, that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would make:
O Allah, always keep us in the state of well-being, and O Allah, efface, pardon our sins.
We come here to Taraweeh, and as we are in the Qunoot prayer in the winter, the Imam is leading and he is making dua, and most likely in that dua he is saying:
O Allah, have us enjoy our hearing, our sight, our strength, so long that we live.
Well, why is this? Because physical health is the very first and most important component, in us being in the state of well-being. We need to be physically healthy, emotionally healthy, and we also need to be psychologically healthy as well. But inshaAllah we are going to concentrate on this one, the physical health aspect of it.
The Foundation of Good Health
You know subhanAllah, the very first step in attaining physical health, is by watching out what it is that we put in us. What type of nutrition come into our body. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala addresses this issue so beautifully.
Allah begins by talking about kind, what kind do you eat and what kind do you not eat. So the verse says:
O ye who believe, eat of the goods We have given you. And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would further be specific, eat that which is halal and tayyiba.
Eat and make sure that what you are eating is halal, meaning that we gained it through legitimate, through lawful means. Stolen food is not halal. Food that in itself is not appropriate, is not kosher for us, is not good.
We don't eat it. So Allah said that there are two conditions for the food to begin with to be consumed. It must be halal where you get it from.
And then the food itself must be tayyib. It must be good. And it must be good for you.
Because certain types of food may be halal, but they're not good for you. If you're diabetic, sugar is halal. But to you, sugar is not good.
It's not tayyib. So these two conditions Allah speaks about them and says that you must abide by these two conditions, number one. The food must be halal and it must be tayyib.
It must be good for you. The second condition Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about, how much, the quantity that we eat. So it said:
O children of Adam, take your ornaments at every masjid.
Some people erroneously think that, if I look really messed up, then I'm really religious. If I look like I am miskeen, then I am closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Not the case.
Rather Allah said, that is not what indicates religiosity. When you come to the masjid, make sure you look good. You'll be looking nice, you're smelling nice.
You wear stuff that you would not wear anywhere else. But subhanAllah some of us would wear it into the masjid. So to begin with Allah said, wear and wear good.
And then, again because erroneously some people may think that, if I give up eating, if I give up drinking, that will make me closer to Allah. Allah said, no, this is not how you get closer to Me. So Allah said:
وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا
Eat and drink.
وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا
However, do not be excessive. Do not be wasteful.
The Epidemic of Overeating
As we speak my brothers and sisters, one third of adults in the US are overweight, are obese. The estimation is that about 60 million people are overweight. 90% of these people are overweight, not because they have big bones, like we would like to say sometimes. Not because they have thyroid problems, even though that's an issue with some people.
90% are overweight because of overeating. We overeat. Unbelievable how much eating we do.
And subhanAllah sometimes we eat simply because we're bored. I have not yet seen people who eat because they're hungry. People eat because they're bored.
You call up a person, what are you doing? I'm doing nothing. I think I'm going to make me a sandwich. لَسْنَا بِجَائِعِينَ وَلَكِنَّا مَلَانَا شَاغِلٌ فَلْتَأْكُلْ عَلَى سَبِيلِ التَّسَلِّي. That's how people talk.
Say that we're bored, let's bring in some food to this. Bring in some entertainment by means of food. You go to the movies, you make sure that you have your popcorn and you have your drinks with you.
You're watching TV, that's what we do. You get in your car in the morning, you get the coffee and the donuts. Lunch time, of course you've got to eat.
In between you have to snack because the doctor said it was good for you. So we do this and we overeat. And we even overeat a lot more when the food is free.
We love free food. People would be full. Say, but you're eating.
Say, it's free, brother. You know, these chances don't come by everyday. So we eat and we overeat.
Wallahi, you see people, they get up and they loosen their belt and they try to push it down so that they can eat a lot more. And that is not good. It is not healthy.
But yet we do this. Wallahi, I have seen people who go to the restaurant and all you can eat restaurant. They come back and the first thing they do is they open the fridge.
Oh, you just ate. And you ate from an all you can eat place. You come in and the very first thing that you do is you open the fridge.
Watch kids as they're watching TV. Between commercials, the first commercial they run and they get their Sunny D. And then the second commercial, it's the chips. And then the third commercial, it's the cookies.
And then the fourth commercial, they just go open the fridge and they come back, they don't take anything. Why? Because we've gotten used to this idea that we just eat. We're constantly eating.
So Allah said, eat. Allah said, drink. But do not be excessive.
Do not cross the bounds. And when you look into some of the statistics that people do, it's unbelievable. They say that the average person in the U.S. consumes about 64 pounds of sugar a year.
That is a lot of sugar. We're talking about, they said that in 1997, in the U.S. people spent 54 billion dollars on soft drinks. Did you know that fast foods, fast food restaurants, they make more money on soft drinks than they do on the actual food that you buy from them? The money is not in the Big Mac.
The money is not in the Whopper and the burger. They said that really the money is in the soft drinks. The average in the U.S. is 868 cans of soda by a student who is in high school.
Boys. 868. That's almost two a day.
That's a lot. So subhanAllah what we're doing is, Alhamdulillah, we may be eating that which is halal. But it is not tayyib, may be lawful, but it's not good for us.
And then on top of that, we do it and we do it excessively. They're talking about 300,000 people die every single year because of obesity. We're talking about the healthcare cost of overweight is a 100 billion dollars.
A 100 billion dollars are being spent simply because people overeat. And again my brothers and sisters, that is not acceptable. So Islam comes to tell us that yes, be healthy.
But being healthy is your responsibility. Do not jeopardize your health and then blame the insurance companies. Do not jeopardize your own health and live a lifestyle that is not healthy and then expect the government to bail us out.
It said, no.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1968
And your body has a right over you. You have to be good to your body.
Your body is an amanah. We've been entrusted by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to care for our bodies. So that is a responsibility.
So the first person who's responsible for your health is you. We are responsible for our own health. And that begins by what it is that we are allowing inside us.
And it begins by eating that which is good and not being excessive there.
The Golden Rule of the Prophet
تَأمَّلِ فِي هَذِهِ الْقَاعِدَةِ الذَّهَبِيَّةِ Look into this, what we call this golden rule for the beloved of Rasulillah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) Muhammad
(Sunan at-Tirmidhi 2380)
The Prophet peace be upon him said, son of Adam, child, man, human being does not fill a vessel worse than his own tummy.
He said a person does not fill a vessel worse than his own tummy. The worst thing to ever fill up is your own tummy.
And then he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says:
(Sunan at-Tirmidhi 2380)
He said it suffices. A child of Adam, man, you know, small morsels to keep his back straight يُقِمْنَ به الصلب He said that all you need is that which will keep you straight. Meaning that you are able to function. You have your strength on you.
And then he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) gives us an idea of how do you do this. So he said:
(Sunan at-Tirmidhi 2380)
He said one third of it should be for the food. One third should be for the drink. And one third of it, for the person to be breathing properly. Sleep apnea. People not being able to sleep at night.
I visited a lab where people come to spend the night there because they don't get enough oxygen. So they have to be supplied with the oxygen. They don't spend the night at home.
They spend it in that clinic. And I was talking to the person who is in charge. And I said, well, how long is this going to go for? And he would tell me, he looked at me and he said, All these people, they just need to lose weight and their problems will be solved.
It's a catastrophe. Obesity at this point is an American tragedy. It is really sad that this is what is going on with us.
He said, Allah detests every man or woman who are overweight. Not by choice. We're not talking about being overweight simply because you have your own health challenges.
No, he said that, Allah detests every man or woman who are engaged in this lifestyle. And then he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would even tell us more what led to this. He said:
You see them all the time in the market.
They're doing their fighting and they're constantly doing their shopping. He said:
Very knowledgeable about the affairs of this life. We know where the best sales are taking place.
You know where buy one get one free is taking place. This we know it very well. And then he said:
Yet when it comes to matters of their religion, they are very ignorant about it.
But the point is, with all the talk that is taking place, we have to take charge. And that is just being our own doctor by taking the means of prevention.
The Challenge of Healthcare Access
Now the challenge comes to people who do not have health insurance. And I know that a good number of our community and people around us are suffering from this. People lose their jobs. You lose your insurance.
Did you know that 70% of the people who file for bankruptcy, file for bankruptcy because they could not afford their health care bills? This is how bad it is.
People are filing for bankruptcy because they cannot pay for the medical care that they just received. They say that two things in the US you avoid and most likely you will make it.
Don't get sick and don't get sued. Don't get sick and don't get sued. You get sick, you're doomed.
You get sick, you get sued, you're also doomed. Why? Because of the financial consequences that are going to come with it. I have people who come to the masjid.
They've been sick for a long time and they tell us, we cannot afford to go and see a doctor. Why not? I don't have health insurance. Wallahi I know of people who got, who made it to the ER, to the emergency room and then they decided, I can't afford this.
Their health was so bad, they actually had to go to the emergency room. They made it there and they started thinking, I can't afford this. I can't.
So what do they do? They come back. And that is sad. Subhanallah, that is very sad.
That is very sad. When people have to go through this, people are constantly having tooth aches and they're having aches all over their body and say, I can't afford this. And nobody deserves to go through that pain, Subhanallah, if we can afford to do something about it.
The point is this, my brothers and sisters. Yes, if you do not have health care, that is a challenge. And I know people, wallahi, who've been telling us that this is one of their greatest challenge.
That is why we're very grateful to the doctors in our local community. We have doctors who would call me up and say, you know what, whoever needs to see a doctor and they cannot afford it, please send them my way. We have dentists who come to me and they say, do me a favor, I know these are difficult times.
And people don't take care of their health because they cannot afford it. Please, if somebody needs any help, free of charge, please send them my way. To these brothers and sisters we say, Jazakumullah khair ya rabbal alamin.
May Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala reward them best. Because truly, they are helping people in getting out of their difficulties. But what's important is at this point, we need to say, I am responsible for my health by watching out what it is that I eat.
Ramadan: Fasting vs Feasting
Now this is the month of Ramadan. And you would think that we as a Muslim community, this would be a great time. You know in Ramadan you don't eat much.
In Ramadan you help your budget, because you don't spend a lot of money on food. And you would think, this is it. Ramadan people are going to get healthier.
But here is what we do in Ramadan. See how we eat three meals a day. In Ramadan we take all the three meals and we just eat it at the end of the day.
But that's not the point. So I didn't have breakfast, I didn't have lunch, but now I'm going to have my breakfast, my lunch, and my dinner at Maghrib time.
Please remember, Ramadan is the month of fasting, not the month of feasting.
There is a difference between fasting and feasting. In Ramadan we feast, we don't fast. You go to the market, and you would see the market, people are on top of each other.
What happened? Say, oh it's Ramadan time. We are supposed to be eating less. But we eat a lot more during Ramadan.
We stuff it up at Maghrib time, and then we wake up and we stuff it up again at Suhoor time. And that defeats the purpose. That defeats the purpose.
They say fasting is such a beautiful way of having your body detoxicate all the waste, all the bad stuff that is not good for us, that is in it. Say, Ramadan you fast, your body takes a break to get rid of that. But we don't give our bodies that break.
We eat and we eat and we eat and we eat. It was said that one time Ibn Umar and one of his friends were walking in the market, and the man said to Ibn Umar, please, I'm looking for medication to help me digest. And he said, what do you mean to help me digest? He said, well sometimes when I fill up my stomach, you know, I need something to digest it.
You know, we fill it up and then we look for soda. That's what we do nowadays. So he said, I want medication to help me digest.
And Ibn Umar looked at him and he said:
He said, by Allah it has been 30 years I have not eaten my full. He said, I don't eat until I fill it up.
He said, it has been 30 years. Why is that? Because it became a lifestyle. Unlike the lifestyle that is so unhealthy that we are living today.
Alhamdulillah, please InshaAllah, let us make use of what remains of the month of Ramadan. Get used to it, so that InshaAllah after the month of Ramadan, we can continue this beautiful habit of eating healthy.
First Khutbah Conclusion
I say this and I ask Allah's forgiveness for me and for you. So ask His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Second Khutbah
Alhamdulillahi wa kafa. Wassalatu wassalamu ala Rasulihi al-Mustafa wa ala man bi athari iqtafa.
They used to say:
They say that there is no harm in wealth for those who are righteous. And health for the pious is better than wealth. وَطِيبُ النَّفْسِ and being in the state of well-being مِنَ النَّعِيمِ is a blessing.
May Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala shower all of us and our families with good health, Ya Rabbal Aalameen. And make us of those who are responsible and give their dues to their bodies, Ya Rabbal Aalameen. So that is one thing about the month of Ramadan.
The Month of Giving
And also the month of Ramadan is the month of giving as well. I know all the difficulties that are taking place. But one of it is that, you know, we're getting closer to Allah by giving of ourselves.
The money that we did not spend on food, we didn't have the coffee, we didn't have this and we did not have that. Well, what happens to that? Now say, well, somebody else insha'Allah can make better use of it. So the month of Ramadan is the month of giving.
And what we want to do is, we want to come in as a community and collectively say, I appreciate this masjid. Wallahi, this is a beautiful place. And we're grateful for the people who are making it possible.
SubhanAllah, look into the AC that we are in. You know, you hear it and it's a beautiful environment, clean atmosphere. Well, brothers and sisters, you know it and I know it, that it takes money to maintain a place like this.
You see us having security outside. You see the place when you walk in, subhanAllah, it is well facilitated for the comfort of those who are going to come in. And this is not just the responsibility of the people who are in charge, but rather this is the responsibility of everybody.
This is my masjid, as much as it's your masjid, as much as it's the masjid of the board in the masjid as well. So what we want to do is collectively say, you know what, I love this masjid. I want to see this masjid maintained.
But this is not only that. You see people who come here and they receive counseling. People lose loved ones and they receive their condolences here.
People have happy occasions and it is celebrated in this masjid. People are introduced to Islam and it is done in this masjid. Some of our brothers and sisters who are not as practicing, they come to this masjid
and they come to the right path in this masjid as well.
People come and read Qur'an in this masjid. So there is a lot of good that is taking place here. We do not want you to miss out on it.
So inshaAllah we appeal for your help. We appeal for your support. As you walk out, please help out the masjid.
Please make sure that you take some of your zakah money and you give it to the masjid here as well. There are pledge forms. You may not have the money right now, but if you have money throughout the year, please make sure that you share that with the masjid as well.
Zakatul Fitr
And one final point about zakatul fitr. Please do not wait till the last minute to give out zakatul fitr. Please don't.
That is really sad. What we want is we want you to give zakatul fitr now, so that we can give it to people now. There is a sister in our community, she said, the other day my daughter was so hungry, wallahi she was eating napkins.
This is here. It is in Orange County. This is taking place.
Well, they come to us and say, I'm sorry, there is no funds in the masjid. We can't do anything about it. But if we were to pay our zakah way ahead of time, pay the zakah ahead of time, so that the money can be taken and it can be shared with these people.
You know that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would ask Al-Abbas, his uncle, to give the zakah for the two next years, two coming years. He said, Please, there is so much need. Can you give your zakah two years in advance? Don't wait till the end of the year, but rather give it to us two years in advance.
And Al-Abbas would say, Please, here is the money. So please do not wait and rush before the Eid prayers. Make sure that the Imam did not start the salah to put your money in the box.
Do it right now. So that InshaAllah the money is taken and is shared with the people there. And for those who do not have health insurance, Alhamdulillah, good news.
If you are to visit Access California, it's a social service agency that we have here for all people. Concentration is on the Muslim and the Arab community. Please come over there and we will do what we can.
Be it introducing you to doctors who work for Pro bono. Be it helping you filing the proper paperwork to get health insurance for you and your family. But this is a beautiful service that InshaAllah you can make use of.
Closing Dua
"Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded."
"So remember Allah; He will remember you. And be grateful to Him for His favors; He will increase you [therein]. And the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do."
And establish prayer.
Allahu A'lam
Barakallahu feekum wa jazakumullahu khair